EGYPTIAN MESAKA’A

“Don’t be fooled by the deceptive simplicity of this dish, it’s ALL flavour. Food writer and self-proclaimed schwarma snob Mary Fawzy was kind enough to let me cook her mother’s delicious mesaka’a (cousin to Greek moussaka) and, with her permission, I made some slight tweaks. It’s my new favourite way to cook brinjals and can easily be made without the beef.”

Serves 8

EASY

GREAT VALUE Preparation: 25 minutes Cooking: 45 minutes

large brinjals 4 extra virgin olive oil 4T sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste large onion 1, roughly chopped red and yellow peppers

2, roughly chopped tomato paste 50 g ground cinnamon 1t smoked paprika 1t ground cumin ½t dried thyme 1t chilli powder 1 t (optional) garlic 2 cloves, peeled and finely chopped beef mince 450 g (optional) chopped tomatoes 1 x 400 g can beef or chicken stock 1 cup (or water if not using meat) toasted and chopped almonds a handful (optional) pitas, for serving almond rice, for serving

1 Slice the brinjals into discs about 2.5 cm thick. Arrange in a single layer on a baking tray and drizzle with 2 T olive oil. Season with salt. Braai for 5 minutes on each side, until slightly shrivelled and caramelised in the centre. 2 Heat the remaining olive oil in a deep skillet over the coals. Sauté the onion and peppers until lightly browned and the onion is translucent. 3 Stir in the tomato paste, cinnamon, paprika, cumin, thyme and chilli powder. Cook until the tomato paste darkens slightly in colour, about 2 minutes. 4 Add the garlic and beef mince if using. Continue cooking, breaking up the mince using the back of a spoon, for about 1 minute, until slightly browned but not fully cooked. 5 Add the tomatoes and stock (or water, if you’re not adding meat). Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

6 To assemble the mesaka’a, arrange half the brinjal in the bottom of a 20 cm castiron pot, followed by half the sauce. Sprinkle over the almonds. Layer on the remaining brinjals and sauce. 7 Cover the dish with foil and cook over the coals for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and serve with almond rice or pitas.

DAIRY-FREE

WINE: Woolworths Diemersfontein Plum Pinotage